Shalia's Diary Omnibus

by Tracy St. John

That slammed terror into my gut. “Oses, you’re not saying—”

  He grabbed me and hugged me tight. “No, Shalia. No outer hatches or bay doors have been opened. She wouldn’t be able to do that without proper security clearance anyway, not with us in space. Candy has not left the transport, no matter what the sensors say.”

  That was a relief. “What about the Ofetuchan phase gadgets? Is that a possibility?”

  Oses shook his head. “All the devices from that craft are accounted for. Searches on Finiuld’s vessel have turned up no others. Candy couldn’t have gotten to it to operate those devices.”

  We have a real mystery on our hands. Where the hell is Candy?

  After hearing all that, I wandered the ship’s concourse. I asked around, because not searching made me crazy. Of course, she’s not been spotted. I knew I would turn up nothing, but what else was there for me to do to get through this nightmare? Sit in my quarters, hoping for word? Wait until someone else stumbled across her?

  I ended up in our almost-finished club. Work had stopped on it. All the Kalquorians who help us out were either on duty or searching deck by deck for Candy. The Earth women who are also involved had lost the heart to work when a principle member of those most involved in the project is missing.

  I ended up staring at my reflection in a mirror-covered wall. My long-sleeved dress showed my baby bump ballooning my front. I contemplated the few memories I’d built in this space. All the times I came in here, hoping to help. Being made to sit around and offer little more assistance than my opinion on how this place would shape up. Candy, running up to inquire about this configuration of sitting areas, tweaks to the color palette, how long the bar should be, and did I need a drink or snack?

  I should have been blubbering at that point. Instead, I felt rage fill my head. Fury over not knowing where my friend was, over my helplessness, over...ah hell, life in general. I was mad at the universe in that moment. For an instant, I had the urge to smash the mirrors.

  Instead, I left the would-be club. I went to my quarters and had a bath. I went to dinner and picked at my food. I spent the night with Oses, who kept promising me they would find Candy if it meant tearing the transport apart. I woke up and still no Candy.

  My com is going off. Oh please God, let it be good news.

  May 18

  The last 24 hours have been horrific. I keep telling myself, at least we have Candy back.

  That’s not true, is it? We have what used to be Candy back. Whatever this thing is she’s become...becoming...oh fuck, I don’t know.

  My portable com went off yesterday, and I fell on it like a hyena on a zebra carcass. All I wanted was to hear Oses or Betra saying they’d found her safe and sound. I thought my heart would explode with gratitude when the voice on the other end said, “Shalia, it’s Candy.”

  I flat-out screamed in my relief, despite her sounding almost too rough to be my friend. “Candy! Oh my God! Tell me you’re okay!”

  “I’m fine. I need you to come to me. You have to show up alone this time.”

  That should have raised some warning flags, but I was too over the moon that she was okay. “Of course I’ll come! Where are you? What the hell is happening?”

  “Everything will be clear once I can talk to you face to face. I’ll give you directions to where you’re heading, but don’t tell anybody you’re coming to me, Shalia. I mean that. I will not be responsible for what happens if someone else shows up.”

  That broke through my giddy sense of relief. “Not responsible? Candy, what do you mean?” My stomach dropped to remember her as I’d last seen her – not the happy Candy I knew. Dressed in drab, ill-fitting clothes and sitting in the dark. Holy shit, was she depressed? Was she suicidal?

  “Listen,” I said in my most caring tone. “Listen, okay? Whatever is going on, we can get through this. I’ll help you, Candy. I love you, you know that, right?”

  “Just come to me, Shalia. I need you.”

  “Sure.” I slid my feet into the slip-on shoes I kept near my door. “I’m ready to go. Where am I heading?”

  “Go to the in-house transport that we use to reach the shuttle bay. I’ll give you directions where to go once you’re there.”

  I admit going to Candy when she was acting so strange was idiotic. Even knowing what I do now, I still would have gone to her. She was – she is my friend. She would never hurt me.

  I got in the elevatorlike transport that not only went up and down between levels, but could also move sideways to access most of the vessel. At the time, I believed it could access anywhere in the vessel. I was about to learn differently.

  I reached the shuttle bay with its endless rows of escape shuttles. From there, Candy directed me to a far wall. That’s where I discovered vertical tunnel tubes that ran down into harder-to-access areas of the ship, deep into the Pussy ‘Porter’s guts. She cautioned me again to not let anyone see me roaming about. It wasn’t that hard to keep hidden given how tightly the floor was packed with the small escape spacecraft. Crewmembers were around, but since no one was evacuating, the place wasn’t exactly a beehive of activity. I reached the tube accesses without being spied.

  “Is this a restricted area?” I whispered as I stared at the big red hieroglyphics posted over each tube. There were about half a dozen. I wasn’t a fan of the slender metal ladders within that would take me to only the prophets knew where.

  “Yes. Be careful to not let anyone catch you.”

  “Fuck,” I whispered. I did not want to climb into the dim confines of that tube. I didn’t want Captain Woltref, Oses, or Betra pissed off at me. We Earther gals score a lot of leeway with the Kalquorians when we screw up, but this felt as if I were pushing my luck. After all, my people were at war with Kalquor not so long ago. I had the uncomfortable vision of being interrogated for potential sabotage. I’d met Oses’s second before, the man in charge of security while my Nobek sweetie was on leave. Nobek Ebnad is a decent enough guy, but he wears an air of ruthlessness the way Candy wore perfume before Ama and Mihi begged her to not spray every inch of her body. The weapons subcommander is flat-out homosexual. While respectful of women, Ebnad does not have the same desire to treat us like the Second Coming. I did not want to be on his bad side.

  Yet I had to find Candy. Something had gone terribly wrong with my friend. There was nothing more important.

  “Which tube?” I tried not to notice how squeamish climbing into one of those things was making me. I’d never considered myself as particularly claustrophobic, but it looked awful tight. I had to remind myself that it must be big enough for huge Kalquorian bodies.

  “On the far right.” When I mistakenly moved the wrong direction, Candy’s gruff tone showed a trace of her old humor. “Your other right.”

  I shook my head at myself and then drew up short. “Wait. You can see me?”

  “I’m near a computer portal. I’ve been monitoring you through ship’s sensors for the last hour.”

  “You can do that? Without security clearance?”

  “Move it, Shalia. Someone’s approaching your position. If they discover you, that could endanger our objective.”

  What objective? I wanted to ask, but I was afraid to get caught. In fact, the idea of being found by a member of the crew had me feeling cornered. I had a moment where I thought about how I’d have to fight a path out of the bay if discovered. Candy’s crazy situation was making me crazy too.

  I reached into the tube, grasping a ladder rung with white-knuckled hands. In a hurry, I was able to put my nerves on hold as I stepped onto a lower rung. “Up or down?”

  “Down. Quickly, Shalia.”

  I moved, having to stretch to reach the next rung. The ladder was made for a great big long-legged Kalquorian, not much smaller Shalia. It didn’t help that my stomach, while not huge yet, still impeded my progress.

  Yet I feared getting caught, so I moved fast. Probably too fast. I shudder to think of how foolhardy I’d been to descend into that dimly-lit space
where the bottom yawned so far below me.

  Candy’s voice was a tinny beacon of sound coming from the com on my belt. “Terrific. Go down three levels and then take the conduit to your right.”

  “My right or my other right?” I joked, trying to lighten the mood a little. My heart pounded from nearly being caught and the exertion of rushing down the ladder. The baby kicked, as if to punish me for being so stupid as to take on this adventure.

  Candy didn’t respond. My arms and legs were beginning to ache from the long stretching it took to descend the ladder when I got to the level she’d directed me to.

  “There,” she breathed with satisfaction. “Not far, Shalia. Take the conduit until I tell you to stop.”

  The narrow passage I found myself in was a kaleidoscope of blinking lights, control panels, and piping. There were small sections of wall here and there that were utterly blank; dull gray surfaces with nothing to look at. The ship hummed contentedly all around me. I fancied this was its heartbeat, though I knew I was nowhere near the Pussy ‘Porter’s engines.

  I walked carefully, suspicious of the power I felt vibrating the air. I was afraid to touch anything, despite doubting I would be electrocuted or harmed. The whole situation had me paranoid by that point.

  I must have traveled a hundred feet or so when Candy called from my com, “Stop.”

  As I halted, one of the blank sections of wall opened inward, showing me a darkened space beyond. A cool blast of air wafted over me, and I shivered.

  “Go in.” Candy sounded eager.

  “Where is this place?” I was reluctant to enter the area where the light was so dim, I couldn’t peer two feet beyond the opening.

  “It’s the bulkhead area next to the hull. You’re almost with me.”

  I had a bizarre instant of wishing for my percussion blaster. Don’t ask me why. I had a bad feeling about walking into that quiet, dead area where Candy wanted me. The urge passed quickly, however, and I stepped through the door.

  “Turn right and straight on. I’m just a few yards away.”

  Candy’s voice echoed in the dimness. I hurried to find her.

  The gap between the hull and the bulkhead wasn’t totally dark. Some wall panels glowed, plenty for sensitive Kalquorian eyes to see by. I passed a lit computer interface that cast an eerie green glow. Every ten feet or so, I passed beneath supportive struts that ran from the floor to arch across the ceiling.

  I was nearing a strut when Candy spoke from in front of me instead of from my com. “Stop there, Shalia. Don’t move any closer – at least not yet.”

  I halted, concerned by how Candy didn’t sound much like Candy. Now that I had found her, caution showed up. “Are you okay? Tell me the truth.”

  “I’m fine. What about you? How are you feeling?”

  There seemed to be some undercurrent to her question. It was as if she was asking about something beyond my general health and well-being.

  A truthful answer would have included phrases such as: scared shitless, angry, freaked out...but I couldn’t stand for Candy to run away again. I tempered my reply.

  “I’ve been worried sick about you, Candy. We all have. The Kalquorians are turning the ship upside down trying to find you. What is going on?”

  “You don’t know.” Her sigh was both concerned and frustrated. “Why is it not working with you?”

  Her reply had me more flummoxed than ever. “Hey, I’m willing to work with you on whatever the problem is. Just tell me what I’ve done wrong – what any of us have done wrong. We’ll fix it. I promise.”

  “You just need more time. Maybe there was damage through the years. Maybe hibernation sickness of some kind. I can wait for a little while longer. As long as we can stay hidden, the objective will be achieved.”

  It was like talking to someone who spoke another language. “What is this objective? This is the second time you’ve mentioned it. Why won’t you step out where I can see you?”

  I was on the brink of charging forward, of yanking Candy out from behind the strut she hid behind, of demanding answers. I thought maybe she’d gone insane. I was sure of it, in fact. I wanted to shake the crazy out of her.

  “Yes, you should see. It might help hurry the process along if you recognize me.”

  With that, Candy stepped out from behind the strut, out into the dim excuse for light. All my questions died in my throat when she came into view, replaced by new questions. And horror. A whole lot of horror.

  Candy had taken off the gloves and coat I’d last seen her wear. She wore a frilly tank top and a short skirt despite the chill in the space next to the hull. She seemed unmindful of the cold that had me covered in gooseflesh.

  Even in the soft light, I saw gray plating over the entirety of her left arm and covering most of her chest and neck. Candy wore some sort of crazy armor. Tubes, fluorescent green in the light of the nearby computer panel, snaked from wrist to elbow and from elbow to shoulder.

  I knew the armor of Earth’s now extinct ground troops as well as the protective gear that our police forces had worn. Kalquorian protective covering was built into their uniforms. What Candy wore bore no resemblance to any of that stuff. It was alien defense, a type which I had never seen. Yet it seemed familiar for some reason. I had a flash of deja vu that came and went before I had an adequate grasp on the memory.

  I stared at my friend, trying to wrap my head around this new, bizarre wrinkle in whatever was awry with her. “What the hell, Candy? What are you wearing? And why are you wearing it?”

  She grinned, and it was not her old happy, ‘cheerleader at the pep rally’ grin. This leer was dark and mean. “We have to finish our mission, don’t we? I estimate five more days and I’ll be back to full strength again. Meanwhile, there is much to be planned, steps to be accomplished.”

  I shook my head, tears filling my eyes. Candy had gone completely around the bend. That hateful, awful smile she wore went further to convince me of that more than anything else. My own earlier forays into mental breakdowns had not ventured close to the madness that had infected my dear, sweet friend. She looked monstrous, as if some vile being that had somehow put her skin on.

  I kept my tone careful, speaking softly so she wouldn’t think of me as a threat. “You have to come back to Medical with me, Candy. This isn’t you.”

  She laughed. “No, it’s even better. Just wait. You’ll see. When you get going—”

  Candy stopped an instant before I saw the shadows behind her move. She turned with a furious howl an instant before Oses and Betra came flying out of the darkness to meet her.

  I believe they had planned to confront her, to try and talk to her. They never got the chance. She attacked them, moving with a speed that was almost Kalquorian quick. Her armored fist caught Betra square on the chin. The blow lifted him off his feet, and he flew to crash against the bulkhead.

  Candy whirled to face Oses, swinging her arm like a bludgeon. She slammed it against the Nobek’s chest, and I heard the air leave his lungs in a great whoop. He fell back, smashing to the floor. Candy was on him in the blink of an eye, her gloved hand closing on his throat and squeezing.

  I screamed as Oses’s face turn purple. “Candy, stop! You’re killing him!” I ran for her, reaching in desperation.

  I have no idea what I would have done if I’d made it to her first. She had already owned two Kalquorian men, taking them down as if they were little Joshadans. I wouldn’t have stood a chance of pulling her off Oses. She could have turned that strength against me. My child would have been endangered if I’d made it to her.

  Yet in that moment all I knew was that Oses was in trouble and Candy was my friend. I had to do something.

  However, Betra shoved past me before I got there, a medical injector in his hand. He pressed it to the side of Candy’s neck. An instant later, she went limp and fell unconscious on top of Oses.

  The weapons commander heaved in a breath, muttered a curse, and sat up. His arms wrapped around Candy to keep her f
rom falling off of him. Oses eyed Betra. In a raspy voice he said, “Thank you, Imdiko. Are you hurt?”

  Betra rubbed his swelling chin. “No permanent damage from what I can tell. What about you?”

  “I’ll drink my next meal. She bruised my throat.” Oses grabbed Candy’s arm and held it up, eyeing the strange stonelike covering. “What in the name of the Mother of All is this shit?”

  “I have no idea, but I’m calling Medical to fetch her.” Betra gave me a look that could have frozen ice water. “And then I’ll want an explanation of why Shalia came after her alone. You can also tell us why you were about to risk yourself and your child to help Oses.”

  As he spoke into his com, Oses crooked a brow at me. “Both actions were extremely foolish. I realize Candy’s tone made you think she would harm herself if you didn’t show up alone, but you should have known better, Shalia.”